


Rails of the Deep

by Samuraiter



Category: Persona 5
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-12
Updated: 2018-02-12
Packaged: 2019-03-17 03:06:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13650129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samuraiter/pseuds/Samuraiter
Summary: Futaba helps Haru rediscover a key aspect of herself.





	Rails of the Deep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JackOfNone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JackOfNone/gifts).



> Takes place at least two years after the events of the game, and is set during a visit to the home of the main character in the countryside, possibly in Yaso-Inaba.

_It looks like there are no buildings,_ Futaba thought, walking by the side of the road, hordes of cicadas droning in the background, _only sky from horizon to horizon. That's so weird_. She had yet to acclimate herself to all the ways the country differed from Tokyo. Granted, she had objective awareness of those differences, but she had yet to _feel_ them and let them attach themselves to her day-to-day experiences. In any case, she had other things on her mind, namely the person walking next to her: Haru.

All of the Phantom Thieves had come to visit their former leader, but Futaba, following a thought that had been nagging her, had been trying to get Haru in a one-on-one situation for the entire trip, and she had agreed to take a walk with her. Lucky for Futaba, though it was a hot day, it was not so hot as to be off-putting for a stroll.

_Okay,_ Futaba thought, setting her jaw in determination, _if I don't bring this up, I'm not going to get another chance, and who knows when we're going to meet up again, so –_ But she turned to Haru to find that Haru had already opened her mouth to speak.

"I'm ... not happy, Futaba-chan," Haru said, her face turning grave. "In some ways, I don't think I've been happy since we were all ... you know." She stopped and looked up at the sky. Not a single cloud to be seen. "Is that what you were going to ask me? It's been written on your face since we all got in Makoto's van to drive down here."

"Guess I'm still about as transparent as a piece of glass, huh?" Futaba frowned. "But yeah, that's what I wanted to know. I mean, I worry about a lot of people in my life, but it feels like what you've got going on just goes ... deeper, if that makes any sense." She took a deep breath, held it, released it. "There. It feels so much better to actually say it. So –" She looked Haru in the face. "– if you want to talk about it, it's just you and me."

"Are you sure?" Haru had a tone to her voice that Futaba did not recognize. "What if I tell you what's going on with me ... and it ends up scaring you? I _know_ there are things in this world that can scare you, Futaba. Don't pretend like there aren't any."

"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't ready to hear the worst." Futaba put on the bravest face in her arsenal. "I'm your friend, and we were both in ... you know ... together. I know time's passed, and I know some things have changed, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about it. Go ahead and give me your worst." That, she said with a big smile.

"Well –" Haru started walking again, though at a slow pace. "– it's not easy for me to talk about. You know what I've been doing since then." She started using her fingers to tick off points. "I'm still involved with the company, but I'm working on getting everything I need for the café, I'm at university, and –" She sighed. "– in that space where our ... other work used to be, there's just _nothing_ now. I know we're not needed any more, and that's probably for the best, but I miss infiltrating Palaces, going to Mementos –" She caught herself, biting her lip, as if not certain she should say more than she had.

"And – ?" Futaba prompted, hoping to hear the last of her points.

"I miss the Shadows," Haru said, her voice thick. "I miss _fighting_. I look at financials, I write term papers, I brew coffee, I put on a good face for everybody I see in my daily life, but I don't pick up my axe any more, and – Futaba, it's just driving me –" Her lips trembled. "– I don't even know what word to use!" She sighed. "There's just all of this _energy_ pooled up inside me, and it's _there_ , and I can't do anything with it, and it's –" She shook her head and collected herself. "Do any of the others know?"

"Perceiving things is my job, you know," Futaba replied, stopping again. A car passed both of them before they started talking again. "But no, I don't think anybody else has picked up on it. Maybe our fearless leader, but you know how he is. He never says everything that he knows. So it's between you and me. No one else." She smiled. "I guess this is where I ask you if there's anything I can do to help you. Anything."

"Anything?" Again, Haru spoke in a tone of voice that Futaba did not recognize, and her eyes had a flatness to them that she had never seen before. "Have you never stopped to think that you might be getting into something over your head here, Futaba?"

"You're my friend," Futaba answered evenly. "I meant what I said: Give me your worst."

To her credit, she did not freeze up when Haru turned to her quickly and kissed her hard on the mouth. And she did not go stiff when she pulled her close.

_M-My ... first kiss, huh?_ It made her go weak in the knees. _From Haru. I never expected –_ Inside her head, she corrected herself. _Who am I kidding? I think this is kind of exactly what I was hoping for. Maybe. I don't know. My thoughts are all jumbled_.

Haru released her after a moment, but she leaned close to her and said, softly, "If you come visit me where I'm staying tonight, you'll learn more about me than you ever wanted to know. Just because I can't hear Milady's voice ... doesn't mean she's not still there. And I won't think any less of you if you want to act like this never happened. That's your right. If you're scared, you can walk away." Her lips hovered centimeters from her ear. "But if you want more, you're one of the only people I'd be willing to trust to go to those places with me. Just ... be aware of what you'd be getting into."

Futaba squeaked, "Does ... that make me your, um, girlfriend, Haru?"

Haru started walking again, smiling as if nothing had happened between them a second ago, "I'll let you decide for yourself what it means, Futaba. We can talk about it. But –" The expression on her face made her look like she had shared a secret in grade school and was embarrassed to still be talking about it. "– whatever you choose to do, thank you for listening. I feel a lot better knowing that somebody knows what's hurting me." Another smile. "I think you'd be a pretty good girlfriend. I've always thought that." And one last hint of that darker side. "Just know that it'd be a little ... different with me."

"O-Okay," Futaba said, smiling and waving it off as they continued their walk.

That night, she did go to visit Haru, and she lingered in front of her door for ten minutes before she decided to walk through it.

**END**.


End file.
